dude theres been porn in the united states since nickelodians (no, not the stupid tv station) it was what people watched as movies back in the day. late 1800s early 1900's youd put in a nickel and spin the handle and watch like a flip book show. and its been around ever since.

Pornography flourished in the Victorian era despite, or perhaps because of, the prevailing taboos on sexual topics. In 1834 an investigation in London established the presence of 57 pornographic shops on Holywell Street alone. A notable work of Victorian pornography is the massive and anonymous autobiography My Secret Life (1890), which is both a social chronicle of the underside of a Puritanical society and a minutely detailed recounting of one English gentleman's lifelong pursuit of sexual gratification.

The development of photography and later of motion pictures contributed greatly to the proliferation of pornographic materials. Pornography in the 20th century is unprecedented in the variety of media used and the enormous volume of works produced. Since World War II, written pornography has been largely superseded by explicit visual representations of erotic behaviour that are considered lacking in redeeming artistic or social values.

Pornography has long been the target of moral and legal sanction in the belief that it may tend to deprave and corrupt minors and adults and cause the commission of sexual crimes. Occasionally, important works of art or even of religious significance may be banned by a state or other jurisdiction because they are considered pornographic under such assumptions. Those assumptions have been challenged on legal and scientific grounds. Nonetheless, the production, distribution, or possession of pornographic materials may be prosecuted in many countries under statutes dealing with obscenity (q.v.).